Al Murooshid inaugurates the 3rd Emirates Diabetes and Endocrine Congress 2012.

His Excellency Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority, inaugurated the congress, which aims to discuss the latest developments in combating diabetes.

He said, "In today's times, diabetes is one of the most pressing concerns facing the health sector, globally and especially in the region and in the UAE. To tackle this condition, requires solidarity and cooperation at all levels. We need to raise awareness and increase health education about the preventive methods and mechanisms of the disease. Today the prevalence of the disease is about 19 % in the United Arab of Emirates. Therefore, under the directives of the HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the Dubai Health Authority has developed and applied various medical programs to contribute to the early detection of the disease. We have further strengthened our efforts across all PHC's for early detection of the disease and we are carrying out sustained awareness initiatives as we believe education is a key tool to tackle diabetes- especially since it is a lifestyle disease.

We also firmly believe in exchange of information and latest know-how and we recognize that conferences such as this one provide a platform for experts to do so."

Dr Abdelrazzak Al Madani, CEO of Dubai Hospital and Chairman of the Emirates Diabetes Society seconded this opinion and said, "The prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes in the MENA Region is compounding year on year. IDF estimated that the number of people with diabetes in 2011 globally to be 366 million and the figure is predicted to grow up to 552 million by 2030. Sound economic conditions, rapid urbanization and shifting demographics in our region has brought home a disproportionately high incidence of diabetes, rooted in unhealthy lifestyle choices. Almost half of the population suffers from diabetes or pre-diabetes; even worse, young adults and adolescents represent an undesirable percentage of the cases. The direct and indirect costs of the disease, if untamed, will jeopardize progress of our communities.

"We need to engage more preventive programs and educational campaigns. The First objective of the "Gulf Executive Plan for Control of Diabetes 2008" was Primary Prevention of Type-2 Diabetes by decreasing prevalence of risk factors in the forthcoming decade. The UAE and the GCC Countries have successfully initiated this plan. We now have jogging and walking tracks, free exercise facilities in public parks, and we have banned smoking in indoor areas including shopping malls, restaurants, and all government premises. Furthermore, we have carried out several campaigns to promote healthy lifestyle, to increase public awareness about diabetes and its management. We now need to work on a stronger, closer collaboration between the public and private sectors; to identify high-risk individuals and help them adopt a healthy lifestyle."

"Moreover, since diabetes is a lifestyle disease, we need to mobilize our population, especially our youth - the young adults and adolescents. We need to continue to educate mothers and families to monitor the calories intake of our children, and promote exercise and physical activity."

These are the kind of things that I believe are important and these are the things which will help us in our battle against diabetes. I still advocate and re-emphasize the need for continuous education, which I believe is the cornerstone to battling this disease."

The two-day conference will discuss key issues on diabetes prevention and management.